preserved in the Geniza collection. However, from the tenth century, the Red Sea route gained greater
importanceduetotheriseofCairoasacentreofcommerceandpowerandgrowingdemandforeastern
goodsfromthetradingcitiesofItaly.
Activity2
DescribeamorningsceneinBasra.
Paper,GenizaRecordsandHistory
In thecentral Islamiclands,writtenworkswerewidely circulatedafterthe introductionofpaper. Paper(madefromlinen)camefrom
China,wherethemanufacturingprocesswasacloselyguardedsecret.In751,theMuslimgovernorofSamarqandtook20,000Chinese
invadersasprisoners,someofwhomweregoodatmakingpaper.Forthenext100years,Samarqandpaperremainedanimportantexport
item.SinceIslam prohibited monopolies, paperbegan to be manufactured intherestof the Islamicworld. Bythemiddle ofthetenth
century,ithadmoreorlessreplacedpapyrus,thewritingmaterialmadefromtheinnerstemofaplantthatgrewfreelyintheNilevalley.
Demandforpaperincreased,andAbdal-Latif,adoctorfromBaghdad(seehisdepictionoftheidealstudentonp.98)andaresidentof
Egyptbetween1193and1207,reportedhowEgyptianpeasantsrobbedgravestoobtainmummywrappingsmadeoflinentoselltopaper
factories.
Paper also facilitated the writing of commercial and personal documents of all kinds. In 1896, a huge collection of medieval Jewish
documents wasdiscoveredin a sealed room (Geniza, pronouncedghaniza) ofthe Ben Ezrasynagogue inFustat. The documents had
beenpreserved thankstotheJewish practice ofnotdestroyingany pieceof writingthatcontainedthenameof God.TheGenizawas
foundtocontainoveraquarterofamillionmanuscriptsandfragmentsdatingbackasfarasthemid-eighthcentury.Mostofthematerial
datedfrom thetenthtothethirteenth centuries, that is, from theFatimid,AyyubidandearlyMamluk periods. Theseincludedpersonal
lettersbetweenmerchants,familyandfriends,contracts,promisesofdowry,saledocuments,laundrylists,andothertrivia.Mostofthe
documents were written in Judaeo-Arabic, a version of Arabic written in Hebrew characters that was commonly used by Jewish
communitiesthroughoutthemedievalMediterranean.TheGenizadocumentsproviderichinsightsintopersonalandeconomicexperiences
as also into Mediterranean and Islamic culture. The documents also suggest that the business skills and commercial techniques of
merchantsofthemedievalIslamicworldweremoreadvancedthanthoseoftheirEuropeancounterparts.Goiteinwroteamulti-volume
historyoftheMediterraneanfromGenizarecords,andAmitavGhoshwasinspiredbyaGenizalettertotellthestoryofanIndianslavein
hisbook,InanAntiqueLand.
Towards the eastern end, caravans of Iranian merchants set out from Baghdad along the Silk Route to
China,viatheoasiscitiesofBukharaandSamarqand(Transoxiana),tobringCentralAsianandChinese
goods, including paper. Transoxiana also formed an important link in the commercial network which
extendednorthtoRussiaandScandinaviafortheexchangeofEuropeangoods,(mainlyfur)andSlavic
captives (hence the word, slave). Islamic coins, used for the payment of these goods, were found in
hoards discovered along the Volga river and in the Baltic region. Male and female Turkish slaves
(ghulam)toowerepurchasedinthesemarketsforthecourtsofthecaliphsandsultans.
Thefiscalsystem(incomeandexpenditureofthestate)andmarketexchangeincreasedtheimportanceof
moneyinthecentralIslamiclands.Coinsofgold,silverandcopper(fulus)weremintedandcirculated,
ofteninbagssealedbymoney-changers,topayforgoodsandservices.GoldcamefromAfrica(Sudan)